The most helpful favourable review

The most helpful critical review

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 starsMuppets' Christmas Carol, Wildly Wrong Yet Remarkably Right
Being a literature professor who specialized in Charles Dickens, I have had a number of people mention in a teasing way "The Muppets Christmas Carol." They expect me to burst an artery in fury and indignation and are surprised to find me not only acknowledging the film but also praising it. One would think that someone who cherishes the original story as...

3.0 out of 5 starsA Christmas Classic! Disappointing DVD!
A full five-stars for the wonderful "The Muppet Christmas Carol." I am amazed that a fresh and interesting take can be found on the often re-made Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol." Muppet movies are hit-or-miss at best, and this one is either the top 1 or 2.Michael Caine is brilliant as Scrooge, and the combination of the completely...

Being a literature professor who specialized in Charles Dickens, I have had a number of people mention in a teasing way "The Muppets Christmas Carol." They expect me to burst an artery in fury and indignation and are surprised to find me not only acknowledging the film but also praising it. One would think that someone who cherishes the original story as I do would detest a version in which Fezziwig becomes Fozziewig (owner of a rubber chicken factory) or in which an extra brother (Robert) is given to Jacob Marely or (even more incredible) Dickens himself becomes a blue long nosed creature (Gonzo, and who knows what he is?!). And yet this version of the Carol remains at its base exactly what Dickens intended it to be--a story of loss and reclamation. It often surprises those friends of mine who bait me to learn how much of the Muppet Carol remains true to Dickens' vision, even containing elements which match the text better than other versions. For example both the aging of the Ghost of Christmas Present before Scrooge's eyes and the gentle quality of the Ghost of Christmas Future as it leads Scrooge to view his horrible future are elements found originally in the book which are faithfully depicted in this movie if not in many others. However the major reason the film works so is because Michael Caine plays Scrooge straight. He allows the Muppets do their humor, but he portrays the agonizing process needed to change a human being from a self centered man of business to "as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old city ever knew." What would Dickens think of this version? I can't say, but I do know that he had no difficulty in having his stories brought to all members of society especially to children. He wrote a children's version of the New Testament as well as several children's versions of his own novels. I think he would have liked the film even with the addition of Robert Marley. END

I always loved this movie, so was excited to finally add it to my DVD collection! However, when I watched it I realized they had cut some stuff out -- like one of the songs! If you're a true Muppet Christmas Carol fan, I'd buy the older version.

if you've never seen it, it's a fantastic family movie and one of the best versions of this story I've ever seen. You can watch it over and over again and still see something new in it.

We wanted to replace our old VHS version of this movie with the DVD and so we bought this one...at the beginning of the film we chose to watch the Widescreen Version and noticed that one of the scenes was missing. I was disappointed about this, but upon further investigation found that the Full Frame Version included on this DVD has the deleted scene in it...so now we are extremely happy to own it on DVD:)

This is a great film. If you have a heart you will love this. Michael Caine gives an amazing true to life performance here. Somehow tapping into the very depth of the character and you can't help but feel that he's somehow living out his own personal demons from his own life. Who would ever believe that someone could give such a performance for a silly muppet movie? Yet Michael Caine somehow takes hold of this role and makes it his own and turns this into a wonderful film of incredible human depth and meaning. And more interesting is the fact that he plays the role of a Scrooge who is less of an evil man and more of a blind heartless man. Thats really how Dickens wrote it. In that regard everyone can see himself as a potential Scrooge and can identify with the things they've done in life which have been Scrooge-like. I've seen grown men sob and have to leave the room after watching the scene in which Scoorge see's himself as a young man foolishly losing the only woman that ever loved him. It's a moment in which love dies in his life and he doesn't even know it. As a young man, he simply walks away - he feels nothing. But now an old man many years later, he's a broken soul and all he can do is stand behind this lost love, who is now only a shadow of the past and sob in terrible sorrow. He asks the ghost of christmas past, "how can you take delight in showing me this?" With that moment, the truth of life is made reality and he understands the past can never be undone or changed. There is something very beautiful and great about this film and no matter what religion or belief you have, the message is universal. You can easly identity with the most important message. Don't waist your life in fear and pride and ignorance. Open your heart and stop yourself in your tracks. The future.. your future, is unwritten. It's wide open before you. Make good decisions. Follow your heart. Believe in your heart again. It does matter! This great message is mixed well with the muppet characters that you remember and love from the 70's and also really great songs that are just dazzling, "where-ever you find love, it feels like christmas."

I love this movie, so getting it on DVD was great. It's a family and friends tradition ever since I saw it in theatres...probably about 10 years ago. I watched it this year with some "newbies" and I was afraid that the charm was just nostalgia, but they liked it too. The one disapointing thing was that one of the songs is cut. The sappy love song from the middle with Scrooge and Belle. I'm not sure why they did this. I'll still watch my old VHS copy just for that moment.Otherwise, the opening menu with Kermit is a BLAST!

A full five-stars for the wonderful "The Muppet Christmas Carol." I am amazed that a fresh and interesting take can be found on the often re-made Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol." Muppet movies are hit-or-miss at best, and this one is either the top 1 or 2.Michael Caine is brilliant as Scrooge, and the combination of the completely straight Caine and the antics of the muppets creates a wonderful reality, blending the original ghost story with a heartwarming chaser.The DVD contains two really nice special features, including a very interesting "Making of..." featurette , and a nice "Christmas's Across the World" featurette. The "Making of...." featurette is one of the most interesting that I have seen, quite long with cast interviews, special effects, song information and pretty much everything you could want.However, several really disappointing choices were made on this DVD release, including producing a full-screen edition and eliminating the song "The Love is Gone" from the UK edition. When I buy a DVD, I want to full movie, not 75% or it with the edges trimmed off. Also, the exclusion of "The Love is Gone" from the UK edition makes no sense, as it is singled out to be the most important transition point of the movie during the "Making of..." featurette.

What a great movie!It's the Muppet Version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Ebenezer Scrooge is played, not by a muppet but by Michael Caine. Everyone knows not to mess with Ebenezer Scrooge - his penny-pinching ways and bah-humbug attitude could make even the bluest skies cloudy. But when he is alone on Christmas eve, he is visited by three spirits: The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present and The Spirit of Christmas's Yet To Come - and gets to see the impact that he has had on the world - and it's not a pretty sight! But, along the way he comes across the life of his poor and kind employee, Bob Cratchit (Kermit) and his family including Tiny Tim who teaches Scrooge the true meaning of Christmas and ends the with the immortal words "God Bless us, everyone."This is a great movie to watch for kids and adults! Jim Henson's movies never disappoint! Full of hilarious jokes and good humor for families, and a wonderful performance by Micheal Caine, you and your entire movie will love this movie - and it will hopefully get you out of your Humbug mood and put the Christmas spirit in you too!

THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL is one of my all time favorite Christmas movies to watch around the Holidays. It was theatrically released in 1992 and has become a family regular favorite to watch. It takes the classic Charles Dickens novel and gives it a funny and heart-warming twist with memorable scenes, characters and music. The screenplay was adapted by Jerry Juhl (Muppet Treasure Island, Muppets From Space) and stays true the original classic.The song score is by Paul Williams (The Love Boat, Bugsy Malone, The Muppet Movie) who brings a lot of charm, humor and wit to these toe tapping and memorable little gems. "It Feels Like Christmas", "Just One More Sleep Till Christmas" and "Thankful Heart" are some of my favorite songs.It stars the regular Muppet repertory cast with the talents of Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson and of course Frank Oz (Yoda, Director of In And Out and Bowfinger).The starring role is masterfully played - with much delight - by Michael Cain (The Cider House Rules, Austin Powers Goldmember and Miss Congeniality). His outstandingly evil and then learns what it is to be nice - really nice by none other than the three magical ghost and Bob Cratchit himself - played by Kermit The Frog!It is a fun and magical film and should be in every family's shelf for the Holiday Season. A real family pleaser! (1-3-02)

Sure, the muppets mixed in with a Christmas classic it does sound sort of strange, but it works out beautifully! While this story is warped into too many emotionally sterile versions(like Scrooge, in the seventies or so, Mrs. Cratchet wasn't even mourning Tiny Tim! Albert Finney Could NOT act and the music, most of it, was terrible!)this one really focuses on the humanity of the story and characters. Human emotions were finally shown! Michael Caine was excellent as Scrooge. The love between him and Belle was really believable(when he joins her at the end of her song, you can tell he has repeated her parting words ever since; he MUST have loved her!). Emily Cratchet was finally mourning her son(THATS what a real mother would do!), and Bob Cratchet's speech about being parted from a loved one is a fact of life is one of the most touching moments. The score to the movie, why didn't they make a soundtrack?! They each tie into their scenes so well that if they were removed, it would just be missing something; When love is gone is one of the saddest, most beautiful love ballads ever heard and its sequence is equally heartbreaking; no wonder Scrooge (and Rizzo)was crying when Belle left, he must have loved Belle very much and seeing it happen again...it would break the hardest heart, it did with me, and I'm 17 and hardened through and through, although I do care about others! I just can't go past that scene; its too much! This movie is just SO touching! I highly recommend it!

Be forwarned by the warning on the DVD case, "This film has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit your TV." Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island are wonderful films, possibly the best Muppet movies, AND they were released in widescreen to the theatres with lots of delightful imagery in those outer regions. So what does Disney do for DVD? Releases them in fullscreen, cutting off about 1/3 of the picture. If you like looking at half of Muppet heads, then these are for you. But what a stupid statement that warning is. Widescreen fits my TV, too, guys. The Muppet Movie, The Muppet Caper, The Muppets Take Manhattan and Muppets From Space are all double-sided DVD releases, with widescreen on one side and fullscreen on the other side, released in excellent transfers by Columbia Tristar. I think Disney needs to re-release these as double-sided disks. If this "reformatting" is Disney policy, I can't wait to see how they screw up the magnificent 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea when they finally release that!